ellen is on to me. >> this is not the way to start my first year on cross country. >> a pencil. a paper clip. >> you have a sandwich in here from last year. that's disgusting. and you got an "a" on your i love winter paper. good job. >> yeah. that led a writer in "parade" magazine, he said of your show. not since the show "roseanne," has a show reflected real life of american families, like the hit sitcom, "the middle." >> i think that's right. i have often thought not since "roseanne," has there been a middle-class family. and it reflects the struggles of economically what's going on today. and parents, especially mothers, trying to juggle and keep a balance with working. frankie is a car dealership sales person. >> not a very good one. >> not a very good one. highly unsuccessful one, as a matter of fact. you take the problems and you put them in a light and give them some perspective. at the end of the day, it's about having your family there with you. and it reflects i think a very american optimism, of getting through. we get through with our humor intact and our family and